


the dreams I'll dream instead

by afterthefair



Series: where tomorrow lies [1]
Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Marriage, Soul Bond, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Telepathic Bond, awkward teenaged sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-05-23
Packaged: 2018-11-03 21:25:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10975620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afterthefair/pseuds/afterthefair
Summary: “So, when do you want to bond?” Marner asks without any preamble as soon as they're within three feet of each other.Auston hears Chucky’s whispered, “What the fuck?”Strome cracks up. “Jesus, Marns, can you say hi before you ask someone to fuck you?"Marner laughs. “Sorry. Hi, Auston. I'm Mitch. We're gonna play together forever.”





	the dreams I'll dream instead

**Author's Note:**

> Basically, this is canon + gay soulbonds. It is the fluffiest thing I have ever written.  
> The timeline is mostly accurate, with a couple things juggled.  
> myroommatemorrissey was cheerleader and midwife for this, and it wouldn't exist without her. Pinestwiins, theonlyaus10isee, goonmarner, frausorge, and K did wonderful beta work.  
> The title is from an Annie Lennox lyric, because I am a hundred years old.  
> I'm sorry there's not more Cliff Pu in this.

**_Before_**  
_January_  


Auston feels it as they're filing onto the ice for the first game against Canada. It's a sensation of warmth that grabs him in his head and his chest and he knows this feeling. He recognizes the signs from everything he's been taught about bonding. He didn't think it would happen now, but of course it's someone who's involved with hockey.  


He looks around as subtly as he can to see who it might be. When he looks over at the Canadian bench, one of the players is looking back at him. He's skinny and smiling. Their eyes meet and Auston feels that warmth intensify in his chest. This is it.  


He recognizes the kid. Marner. He went high in the draft and he's friends with Strome and McDavid. And he plays with Chucky, which makes this a little easier. Auston smiles back at Marner and then looks down. He'll deal with it later. They have a game to play.  


-  


The first task after the game is finding Chucky. Auston corners him as Chucky’s leaving the showers.  


“Can you introduce me to Marner?”  


Chucky runs a towel over his hair. “You don't even know if the Leafs are getting you, why do you want to meet him now?”  


“I just need to, okay?”  


Chucky must see something on his face, because he heads to his phone. He picks it up and looks ready to text when he stops and makes a noise of surprise.  


“He already texted. He wants to meet you.”  


Auston feels a moment of relief that it wasn't all in his head. He knows, but it's nice to be sure.  


Chucky tells him where Marner wants to meet, and Auston goes to finish getting dressed.  


When they meet up, it's in a hallway somewhere in the depths of the arena. Strome is standing with Marner and Marner looks happy. He smiles brightly when he sees them.  


“So, when do you want to bond?” he asks without any preamble as soon as they're within three feet of each other.  


Auston hears Chucky’s whispered, “What the fuck?”  


Strome cracks up. “Jesus, Marns, can you say hi before you ask someone to fuck you?”  


Marner laughs. “Sorry. Hi, Auston. I'm Mitch. We're gonna play together forever.”  


He's grinning and Auston grins back. He tries to let the excitement of the moment drown out his nerves.  


“Tkachuk! Let’s give them a minute,” Strome says, and Chucky steps away with him.  


“Can I see it?” Marner asks, as soon as they're alone off to the side.  


Auston feels his chest throb. He pulls up his t-shirt to show Marner the intricate design on his sternum. Marner grins when he sees it, and lifts his shirt, too. Auston recognizes the whorls and angles, a birthmark like a fingerprint right in the middle of his chest. They match. This is real.  


“This is going to be great, man!” Marner says. “Give me your phone, we gotta keep in touch until you're in Toronto.”  


Auston is overwhelmed. But when he meets Marner’s eyes, he feels a little like he's falling into them. Certainty is something Auston does well, and this has the feeling of every other right decision he's ever made.  


He hands over his phone.  


-  


They've got a tournament to focus on, but the logistics of this require Auston's attention. His parents need to know, and his agent. Marner — Mitch — has to tell his people and the Leafs. God, Auston doesn't even know if he'll still be in the draft. This has never happened in this league before. He's pretty sure the Leafs will lose their first round pick because it will go to him. He takes a moment to be pissed that he won't go first on his own merits, and then moves the fuck on. He has a bondmate. He’ll heal more quickly, his performance will be better, and he’ll never be alone in his head. Everything he's worked for will be that much better.  


His mom had always told him he was lucky growing up. “Very few people get to have what you're going to have,” she'd said, and told him to be as thankful for it as any of his other gifts. He knows the statistics, that only about 5% of people have the potential to bond, and that it will give him a competitive edge that he's thankful for. But he also knows that the marketing and press are going to be ridiculous once the Leafs can release the news.  


He's in his hotel room when Mitch comes by. Chucky sits up as Auston lets Mitch into the room.  


“Do you two need me to clear out?”  


Auston says “no” just as Mitch says “yes.” Chucky looks pained. Auston knows it's weird. It's just an unusual situation to witness and some people get uncomfortable with bonds. Chucky grabs his phone and keycard and leaves, clapping Auston on the shoulder as he goes past.  


“This is awesome!” Mitch says when Auston turns back to him. He's really loud.  


“We should figure out how we’re doing this,” Auston says. “Have you called your parents yet? Or your agent?”  


“Nope. Figured we could do that together.” His shoulders settle and he looks content. Auston understands the feeling. Just being in the same room is settling him, and there's a throb from his chest that’s urging him to complete the bond, so he can feel even better than this.  


They smile stupidly at each other for a minute before Mitch surges forward and tries to kiss him. Their teeth clack together and Mitch bites into his lip before they get situated. Mitch leans into him and opens his mouth too wide. Auston gentles the kiss slightly, cupping Mitch's face in his hand. He has a few inches on Mitch and he's broader. It feels like he’s done this more than Mitch has, from the way Mitch is flailing a little. Auston feels protective, which he knows is stupid. Mitch pulls back and Auston wants to follow him, but holds himself back at the last moment.  


Mitch's eyes are bright and his smile is wide. “See? It's going to be great.”  


Auston feels himself smiling back and then shakes it off so they can get down to business. They sit down on Auston's bed with their phones and call their agents on speaker. It takes a few minutes before they can get everyone on the same page about what's happened.  


“You're definitely going to be a Leaf, then,” Pat says. “I'll call Lou in the morning and start putting things in place. Darren, I assume you want to be in on that?”  


Mitch's agent says yes, sounding kind of overwhelmed, and they schedule a time.  


“We'll have some new opportunities for endorsements, and probably some speaking engagements. We’ll call Hockey Canada and USA Hockey and see if we can get some candid shots of you two that we can use later. We have to have enough material to tell the story when everyone finds out.”  


Auston is supremely glad to have Pat. Mitch's agent sounds young and confused, but Pat has experience with this, if not this particular type of situation. Brodeur and Kopitar are bonded, even if it's not to other players. Pat knows the plays here.  


“Have you two discussed when you're completing the bond?” Mitch's agent asks, and Auston meets Mitch's eyes in query.  


It's fundamentally strange to have someone ask him when he's planning on having sex. It's even more strange when Auston suddenly realizes he's going to have to coordinate sex with multiple uninvolved people. They can't bond any time soon if they want to be able to finish their seasons apart.  


“It would have to be this summer. We can stay pledged to bond that long and not have a problem,” Mitch says.  


Auston nods. They could do it before training camp and have some time to get used to their awareness of each other.  


-  


It only takes a couple days for the dreams to start. They’re never about anything notable, just sitting with Mitch on a couch watching TV, or skating at practice, or sex. They're just glimpses of a possible life together, like Auston's brain wants him to know just how good it could be if they completed the bond. Mitch says dream-Auston is impressive in bed, which he appreciates.  


-  


He and Mitch go out to dinner one night, just the two of them. Mitch is ridiculous and over the top, and when he gets up to use the bathroom, he gives Auston a smacking kiss on the head.  


Someone at one of the tables nearby gives them a disapproving look and Auston is confused for a moment. Everyone has been talking to them about the bond so much that he's almost forgotten that they look like an average gay couple to most people. He hasn't thought about it before.  


“Are you gay?” he asks Mitch, when he gets back.  


“Bi, probably. I've had girlfriends. You?” He looks interested, leaning forward across the table.  


“Same, I think.” It hasn't really been a big deal. Guys are hot, but he's a professional athlete so they're off limits. Or so he thought. “You know, any time we go anywhere outside of Toronto, no one will know we're bonded.”  


“So, the world thinks I'm gay. I'm willing to deal. Are you?” He's challenging and Auston wants to respond in kind.  


“I'm fine with it. Just making sure you were.” Auston's really not sure he's fine with it. Everyone grows up hearing about bonded couples of different races or the same sex having to show people their birthmarks to be able to live together in the past. It's better now, but there are still going to be people who only accept them because a bond cancels out their problems with gay people. And that doesn't even deal with the people who are okay with gay people but find bonds unnerving.  


Growing up, the potential to bond had always just been a confirmation that he was special and he was going to do great things. He'd thought he'd meet a nice girl who was smart and talented, exceptional at her own thing, and she'd settle down with him wherever he got drafted. He wasn't expecting this.  


Mitch smiles at him, clearly finding this hilarious. “Do you need any help with your sexuality crisis?”  


“Nah, I'm good. Just needed a couple minutes to adjust to being Auston Matthews: Gay Icon.”  


“I think you mean ‘Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner: Gay Power Couple,’” Mitch says.  


“You owe me a drink for springing that concept on me.”  


Mitch leans back and laughs, tangling his feet with Auston's under the table.  


-  


They say goodbye to each other at the end of the tournament and they promise to keep in touch as much as possible. Auston kisses Mitch. He's kind of proud of himself for making the first move.

\- 

_February_  


Auston is back in Zurich and Mitch is in London by time their agents get everything set up with the Leafs. Their current snap streak is 19 days.  


They haven't really said anything of importance to each other, mostly just showing each other their day to day lives. Mitch is funny and energetic, with a running commentary on his friends and his teammates. Auston is trying to keep up.  


They've decided to link up on Skype and put it on mute while they talk to the Leafs. It's not the same as being together, but they can communicate to each other about anything important.  


Lou Lamoriello is gruff but happy. He explains that they checked the CBA and precedent from other sports and they can take Auston. They'll handle everything with the draft and then they'll want him in Toronto by August to work with Mitch. They expect them to be bonded by the time the season starts.

“We’ll announce it at the draft. Bettman has been informed and we have a plan in place.”  


Pat interjects to ask about contracts. “We’ll call you soon to discuss Auston’s bonuses.”  


Auston holds his breath, but Lamoriello laughs. Auston didn't really know he could do that.  


“He’ll have bonuses. If I could get it past the Players’ Association, I'd see if I could get them a joint bonus. You're going to do great things for us, boys.”  


Auston looks at Mitch on his laptop screen. Mitch is rolling his eyes and smiling.  


After the call wraps up, Auston turns up the volume on his computer and sighs heavily at Mitch.  


Mitch smiles back. “Rebuild, centennial year, and now bonded rookies! We're a fairy tale, baby.”  


Auston huffs out a laugh. “Yeah, I caught that. I guess we have to get used to being aggressively marketed from now on.”  


Mitch giggles. “You know that was going to happen anyway. It'll just be more now.”  


They talk some more about logistics and their families. Their parents apparently have a group chat now that has devolved into comments about the weather and suspicions about Bettman’s motives. Mitch and Auston haven't been talking as much as they'd like because of their schedules, but they're making an effort, getting to know each other. The bond won't give them backstory, they have to teach each other the context for all the emotions they'll be listening in on.  


Mitch gets up and tells him to hold on for a moment. Auston hears muffled conversation, and then Mitch comes back looking a little annoyed. Cliff Pu shows up in the background behind Mitch, walking around in sweatpants in Mitch’s billet’s living room. He stops and looks confused when he notices who Mitch is talking to.  


“Since when do you talk to American McJesus, Marns?” he says, without acknowledging Auston directly. Then he waves brightly and grins.  
Auston likes him already.  


“Chucky introduced us at World Juniors,” Mitch says easily, and it's not exactly a lie.  


“That sure you're going to the Leafs, Matthews?” Pu says.  


Auston lets himself smile easily. “Always a good idea to make friends,” he says.  


Pu looks at him like he's not quite buying it before smacking Mitch on the back of the head and walking away.  


“A couple of the guys are hanging out tonight,” Mitch explains.  


“Do you want to talk later?” Auston asks. They don't have to be in constant contact, Auston guesses, but he'd wanted to tell Mitch about the two goals he'd scored and how the guys told him they didn't know what they'd do when he went back to North America.  


Mitch looks slightly put out. “Yeah, I thought they were coming later. We’ll talk tomorrow? Same time?” He looks eager and hopeful.  


“Of course,” Auston says quickly.  


“Marns, we need you!” he hears in the background.  


Mitch frowns but says goodbye. Auston is left looking at the screen when he disconnects. They have five more months until development camp.  


-  


The Mitch who shows up in his dreams likes to cuddle and laughs helplessly after getting checked by Nazem Kadri. Mitch says that dream-Auston is somehow both boring and snarky and he has bad taste in pizza toppings.

\- 

_March_  


It's a couple weeks into March when Auston realizes he isn't hooking up anymore. He's out at a bar with his team when a girl who speaks pretty good English starts talking to him. She's beautiful and tall and keeps scratching her nails against his arm and smiling secretively at him. Three months ago, he would have already been back at her place with her. And now he can't work up the interest. He makes his excuses and moves to another part of the bar to pull out his phone.  


_I don't really want anyone anymore and it's your fault_ , he texts to Mitch.  


_dude I haven't gotten laid since December. you don't want anyone else it's normal_. The typing bubble shows up for a long moment before _and I'm more than enough for you anyway_ , shows up finally.  


Auston snorts. He knew it would happen, that he just wouldn't have much interest in anyone else anymore, but he thought he had more time.  


Auston’s phone pings and when he looks back down at it, there's a snap. He opens it without thinking and there's a hard dick staring at him.  


_are we at this point yet?_ Mitch has asked.  


Auston laughs loud enough that a woman at the next table looks at him. He can never tell Mitch he laughed the first time he saw his dick. It's a pretty nice dick. He screenshots it and Mitch sends him a blushing emoji.  


-  


The dick pic opens the floodgates, so to speak.  


Mitch is shirtless the next time he Skypes Auston. He's scrawny and he looks awkward and Auston wants him so much it makes his head spin.  


“I swear, I didn't think you were this hot when I actually met you,” Mitch says.  


“Same,” Auston says, and they sit there staring at each other for a moment, frustrated.  


“But this is good, right?” Mitch says. “If I'm going to be boning you for the rest of my life? It's good that I really want to. Bone you, I mean.”  


“Yeah, and we’re not seeing each other until July, so I'm not real happy to learn about this problem now.”  


They have a pretty normal conversation, but there's an undercurrent there that's been building. Auston keeps getting distracted by the flush on Mitch's chest. Mitch rubs lightly against his throat and Auston stifles a moan, responding as coherently as he can to a story about Chucky taking out a guy from Erie.  


He jerks off, sitting up in his bed, as soon as Mitch hangs up.  


-  


Dream-Mitch kicks his ass at golf. They've got to be in their thirties, and the Stanley Cup is in the golf cart.

\- 

_April_  


He ends his tenure in the Swiss League by getting second in the MVP voting. Mitch rewards him by jerking off for him over Skype. He flushes all the way down his chest and his nipples are peaked. Auston wants to bite him all over his chest and lick him until he screams, and when he says it out loud, Mitch gasps, then tenses and comes all over himself. Auston feels himself hunching inward as he comes. He's still in his underwear.  


Mitch wipes himself off then pulls his laptop into his lap. “I miss you,” he says wistfully. “I've only spent like ten hours with you, but I miss you.”  


Auston feels the same. “I need to change,” he says.  


Mitch laughs at him.  


He debates visiting Mitch once he gets home, but he only has a couple months left before it gets difficult to be apart for more than a couple weeks. This summer is the last time he's going to be alone for the rest of his life.  


Auston kind of aches for him. Mitch is loud and annoying and he makes stupid jokes and makes Auston hang out on Skype while he cooks one of the three things he knows how to make, and Auston finds all of it stupidly charming. He can't wait until he can see Mitch every day.  


When the draft lottery happens, Auston watches out of morbid curiosity. The Leafs get first pick. It's kind of nice, knowing that he would have gone first to the Leafs no matter what. The bond didn't give him this. 

\- 

_May_  


Mitch’s cellies are dumb, but there have been an awful lot of them to watch this season.  


Auston’s been keeping up as much as possible, learning how Mitch plays, but also just admiring it. Mitch has basically been destroying the OHL this season, playing like he has something to prove. Auston appreciates knowing he's not the only one.  


Auston is proud, a sudden, deep, proprietary feeling. He's never felt like someone he was dating belonged to him, but he's feeling that for Mitch, however strange it would be to say it to him.  


He’s managed to get a stream of Mitch's final game and it's electric. Mitch only has one assist, but it's clear he's pushing the team. They win finally, in overtime, and Auston’s lucky that his stream shows everything after the game. Mitch is the MVP. Auston wishes they were bonded already so that Mitch could feel how proud he is.  


He texts Mitch, _top scorer and MVP? hot_ and gets back a laughing emoji a few hours later.  


-  


Auston is dreaming of Mitch lounging on the patio of Auston's parents’ house, bathed in sun, when he's awakened by his phone ringing. It's his agent saying he's been named to Team North America for the World Cup. 

\- 

_June_  


Mitch watches the combine, which Auston still has to attend. He does a lot of interviews with a lot of teams who don't know they're not taking him. The Leafs representatives don't seem to know they are taking him, so Auston plays along. When he looks at his phone at the end of the day after fitness testing, there's a series of increasingly filthy texts as the day goes on.  


-  


He thinks he does pretty well, enough that there won't be questions about what he's capable of.  


-  


Mitch has to be at the draft with Auston, and Mitch's parents think it's close enough to justify going for moral support, so Auston finds himself at dinner the night before the draft with his parents, sisters, soon to be in-laws, and Mitch. Mitch's parents found a restaurant that let them use a private room.  


It's the first time they've all been together. Mitch is taking advantage of the bottles of wine his parents bought for the table, the dads are deep in conversation about something baseball-related, and Breyana seems way too enthralled with Chris. Auston sits back and lays his arm along the back of Mitch's chair.  


It's the last time his life is going to be quiet for a while, so he tries to enjoy it.  


The next day finds Auston in his seat with his family, waiting patiently for the circus to start. He's been briefed on every part of this, but he's still nervous.  


Mitch texts him, _break a leg_. He knows Mitch is backstage somewhere, because they're both going to have to do interviews after all of this.  


The Leafs representatives get up on stage and then Bettman announces that the Leafs will not be using their first round pick. Lamoriello is there at the podium, letting everyone know how important this announcement is.  


He starts to speak. “Our first pick will be chosen due to the bonded teammates clause of the CBA.” There's a ripple of confusion through the room. “From Zurich, Swiss League and the US Men's Program, Auston Matthews.” Auston stands up and hugs his parents and sisters, then walks up to the stage and takes the jersey and hat. The murmur in the room gets louder as Auston goes through all the ceremony and then gets ushered to another room. He doesn't have to deal with the press yet. He knows there's a press release that's also going up on twitter explaining that he and Mitch are pledged and that the organization feels lucky to have two talented players who will also share something this rare. His phone is going crazy in his pocket and he ignores it. He leans back against a wall with his eyes closed, waiting for someone to tell him what to do.  


Mitch comes into the room then and hugs him. “They're sending all the other guys to another room,” he says into Auston's neck. “It's just you and me for a minute.”  


They stay standing there, arms wrapped around each other until one of the NHL PR people comes in with a couple of Leafs people Auston recognizes. Mitch turns in his arms and Auston stays wrapped around him.  


The pretty blonde lady who works for the NHL smiles gently at them. “We're not letting the press in here. We have a table set up for you two to answer questions. We just sent out the press release, so we'll give them a minute to digest that.”  


She looks at her phone in concern and turns to one of the Leafs guys to ask him something procedural. Mitch leans back into Auston. He feels like he might fly apart into a million pieces and Mitch is the only thing keeping him together.  


The PR people usher them into a new room and sit them at a table in front of the press. Lamoriello is there, with Shanahan. Mitch holds Auston’s hand under the table.  


The NHL lady starts calling on people and Lamoriello fields questions. Someone asks if there's an unfair advantage, and Lamoriello tells him that there have been bonded pairs on teams in other sports before and everyone accepted it.  


Someone else asks if they've seen any change in their performance, and Shanahan reminds the room that they're not bonded yet, just pledged to bond.  


“How long have you been pledged?” a guy with a high-pitched voice asks.  


“We met in January at World Juniors and realized it then,” Mitch responds. He sounds calm. Auston squeezes his hand.  


They ask if there's ever been a bonded couple in hockey before.  


Lamoriello smiles as he says that Toronto is happy to welcome the first.  


-  


That night, Mitch sneaks out of the hotel room he's sharing with his brother and knocks on Auston’s door.  


Mitch herds Auston back to bed and rearranges Auston under the covers until he's satisfied, settling back against Auston with a sigh.  


“You staying the night?” Auston asks.  


Mitch snuggles into his chest. “Yeah, thought I'd take advantage of the opportunity. Maybe we can induce a sex dream with proximity.”  


Auston snorts. “We’ll both think really hard about it.”  


“Sounds good,” Mitch says. He raises his fist for Auston to bump and then passes out.  


-  


His agent starts getting calls from other teams. They're offering to wait out the Leafs’ claim on his rights while he goes back to the Swiss league. All he has to do is not complete the bond.  


It's a ridiculous offer. He'd be wasting some of his best years, not to mention the advantages of bonding. His agent tells him he'll inform the Leafs, that it will help at the bargaining table.  


-  


Auston is very happy to not be in Toronto. Mitch says he keeps seeing their faces on the news. It's a huge international story, the first bonded couple on a team together since the 90s. No one has any information, so they're relying on the Leafs PR machine to explain what's going on. They've mostly been given elaborately photoshopped pictures of the two of them and tweets about the rules surrounding bonding. The Leafs will have them shooting commercials when Auston comes to Toronto, and it's the one part of being back with Mitch that he's dreading.

\- 

_July_  


Auston makes it until the end of June before he tells his parents he’s moving to Toronto as soon as he can. Development camp is coming up and he might as well. They've only done a little planning so it's kind of a scramble to find a place and determine that Brian is going with him. Brian and Ema have a very serious conversation with Paul and Bonnie and the next thing he knows, Auston is signing a lease for a three-bedroom apartment and asking Mitch how he feels about IKEA. Brian is taking the master bedroom so he has room to work, and Auston can't really argue with that.  


-  


Mitch and his parents meet them at the airport. Auston wraps his arms around Mitch and he feels the throb in his chest come back.  


“Welcome home,” Mitch says against his neck.  


Auston's dad taps him on the shoulder and they pull back from the hug. Brian has already greeted Paul and Bonnie and they all look indulgent.  


There are people taking pictures. Toronto has apparently decided the bond thing and the good hockey thing outweigh the gay thing.  


They make their way out of the airport and back to their new apartment. Brian heads straight to his room and sighs happily as he puts his stuff down. Mitch takes Auston's hand and walks him to his room, right next to Mitch’s. There's a bathroom next to it, and Auston can see a towel already on the floor.  


Paul is at the counter in the kitchen, cooking. Bonnie has opened a bottle of wine and is pouring Brian a glass as they settle in. There's an expensive blender in the corner of the counter, and Paul explains that Bonnie felt they needed a ridiculous housewarming gift. They keep up a steady stream of commentary and Auston relaxes into the feeling of home they're already creating. Auston is reminded that Paul and Bonnie are way too normal to have Mitch for a child. They make fun of him a lot, which he seems to find hilarious.  


“He’s terribly grumpy when he first wakes up in the morning, and then he gets worse because all his energy comes rushing back and he wants to know why you aren't fully awake yet. If you can ignore him until you're ready to deal with it, you'll be much happier,” Bonnie tells him matter-of-factly. Mitch is blushing and grinning, like he's used to his parents acting like he needs an instruction manual.  


-  


Auston goes in to sign his contract. Mitch comes with him because they’ve had to add a clause about not getting traded away from each other to his contract. No one asks when they're bonding, but there's discussion of them being used to each other by the time the season starts. They're on a schedule that no one is being explicit about.  


-  


Mitch gets up and passes Auston on his way to bed. He steps over where Auston has his legs stretched out onto the coffee table. He stops with one leg over Auston’s and leans in to kiss him sweetly.  


“Good night, Auston,” he says. He steps fully over Auston and goes to his room, closing the door behind him. Auston sits in the living room until Netflix asks him if he wants to continue.  


They are very decidedly not getting off together in any fashion. It took Auston a few days to adjust because he's used to being pretty openly sexual with Mitch. It's probably a good thing that they need to pull back until they're ready to complete the bond because real life Mitch who walks around the apartment in his boxers and drapes himself over Auston without thinking about it makes Auston not know where to put his hands.  


It’s starting to feel a little like virgins waiting for the wedding night.  


He wakes up to the birthmark on his chest throbbing now, usually from a dream about Mitch cooking or Mitch skating or Mitch sucking a hickey into his shoulder. His body is letting him know that he can't stay pledged for that long without completing the bond or rejecting it. Mitch looks similarly pained some mornings. They won't have to worry about the Leafs pushing them much longer.  


-  


There's an actual CBC feature on bonding in sports. They sit down to watch it together with Brian, who adds commentary. Auston realizes his father has had a long time to learn a lot about bonding. He should probably ask him what he learned. The feature ends up being interesting. There was a doubles tennis pair in the 70s who did really well, and two guys on a college basketball team in the 90s. But Mitch and Auston are still big news. It's rare to bond with someone in the same line of work, it being much more likely that the bondmates will excel at their own pursuits. They're really lucky.

\- 

_August_  


Morgan Rielly shows up to train with them. He's pretty obviously captain material. Auston hopes that's not going to be a problem, because he knows how he's being positioned. Mo tries to give them a rundown of the team and realizes there are enough new people that he's going to have to learn a lot of it with them.  


Three days in, he has fully adopted Mitch, as expected, and he and Auston have about four inside jokes. It's nice.  


-  


Mitch corners him one day in the kitchen. One minute, Auston's reaching past Mitch to grab a water bottle and the next Mitch is surging up to kiss him and backing him up against the counter. They haven't kissed like this since they were in Geneva. There's intent here, Mitch reaching up to curl his fingers into Auston's hair and tugging, licking along his lower lip before Auston gasps and Mitch's tongue is in his mouth.  


Auston is very aware that this isn't actually as hot as it feels. They're neither of them very good at this, but it still feels more intense than kissing anyone else has ever been. He turns them around so Mitch is against the counter and kisses him again. He can feel Mitch bending back as Auston tries to get closer to him, and Auston finally steps back.  


Mitch runs his hand over his mouth. “Yeah, I think we're out of time.”  


Auston can agree. He's distracted enough that he's pretty sure people will notice soon.  


The next day, Auston pulls his dad aside.  


“I think you should go home and see mom this weekend. You haven't done that in a while.”  


His dad looks confused. “Why would I go right now?”  


Auston hedges. “I just think it's a good idea. Mitch and I will be fine here. Alone.” He raises his eyebrows at his father.  


“Oh! You're bonding.” He pats Auston on the hand. “I'll go home for a week.”  


Auston blushes.  


“Ok, this is weird! We know that,” Mitch says after they've said goodbye to Brian. “But it doesn't have to be that weird. We've both had sex before. How different can it be?”  


“You've had sex before?” Auston jokes, and Mitch pulls him from the door to the couch, dragging Auston down and arranging him how he likes. He sighs as he settles back against Auston.  


“We’ll just play it by ear. We've got a week before your dad gets back.”  


They get through four days of training and meals and deliberately casual touches before Auston breaks. He had really hoped he wasn't going to be the one to take the initiative, but he apparently can't count on Mitch for this.  


He grabs Mitch as he passes in the hallway near their rooms and presses Mitch back against the wall. They look at each other for a long moment before Auston leans down and kisses Mitch. He tries to keep it sweet and slow, cataloging everything instead of rushing this. This is the last time he’ll be alone in his head, and the only time he’ll be with Mitch like this without sharing the experience.  


He'd forgotten that Mitch isn't that much shorter than he is, and he has to adjust to the breadth of him in his arms. Mitch is calmer than Auston was expecting, letting his hand rest on the center of Auston's chest. Auston pulls back to look at Mitch after a while.  


“Okay?” he asks, and Mitch nods.  


Auston pulls Mitch into his room, backing him up towards the bed. Mitch sits happily and looks up at Auston.  


“Come on, what do you have to show me?” Mitch says, leaning back in his elbows.  


Auston hesitates for a moment and then takes off his shirt. Mitch's eyes widen and he takes in a quick breath.  


Auston crawls up on the bed on top of Mitch. He kisses him deeply, letting Mitch suck on his tongue, his hips hitching up against Auston’s. He's already hard. It's easier with Mitch than it has been with anyone else, like they already know how their bodies move together. It's a relief. Auston has had a lot of sex, but never with a man. He'd been hoping that Mitch wouldn't be able to tell he has no idea what he's doing, but this feels easy, like he already knows the steps.  


Mitch breaks off the kiss and throws his head back, rubbing his cock against Auston. Auston gets a hand on Mitch's crotch and Mitch makes a soft, broken sound before moving Auston's hand.  


“If you want this to last at all...” he says and Auston nods.  


He lets his body rest on Mitch’s, getting used to his lean limbs around Auston’s body and his cock rubbing up against Auston’s stomach. He feels warm and welcoming and Auston wants to stay this close to him forever.  


He thrusts against Mitch’s hips experimentally and Mitch throws his head back, clutching at Auston's hair.  


“We need to at least get undressed,” Mitch says, and wriggles out of his clothes, moving Auston to the side.  


Auston takes his pants and boxers off a little more slowly, then sits back to watch Mitch. His dick is hard and red, and he's smiling sweetly. Auston climbs back on top of him.  


Mitch clutches at his shoulders and wraps his legs around Auston. He arches his hips up and drags his cock along Auston's and Auston can't stop his moan. Mitch giggles and latches on to Auston’s neck with his teeth, holding on while Auston bucks against him. It's too fast, and Auston wishes they could keep going, but he can feel the tension in the bottom of his gut getting higher.  


Mitch cries out suddenly and comes on both of their chests. He grips Auston's sides as he shakes, and Auston follows him over, collapsing to the side of him.  


Auston feels the mark on his chest get hotter than it's ever been as they're lying there together and gradually he can feel contentment that's not his. It's disorienting but kind of euphoric for a long moment.  


“This is weird as hell,” Mitch says. He flips over onto his side and looks at Auston. “It's like you're next to me but you're also where I am at the same time.”  


Auston understands what he means. Getting Mitch's emotions while he's right next to him is like watching a video with the audio out of sync.  


They both lie there, near sleep, and Auston feels like he's swimming in everything that is Mitch. His dream is hazy and more impressions than anything, but he's aware of getting calmer and feeling less like he’s lost in Mitch as he drifts towards wakefulness.  


When he wakes up, he can feel Mitch in the back of his head, as subconscious as his awareness of where he is or the time of day.  


Mitch smiles at him when he wakes up, and Auston leans in and kisses him. He can feel Mitch's lust and happiness as he wraps his arms around Auston. It's heady but not disorienting, making him grip Mitch a little harder than he probably should as he moves him onto his back. He pulls Mitch's leg up around his waist and rubs their cocks together. Mitch moans quietly and scratches his nails through Auston's hair. Every time he thrusts against Mitch, Auston can feel sparks in his head as Mitch jolts. He feels like he can't stop, like he has to feel whatever Mitch is going to feel when he finally comes.  


Mitch grabs onto his shoulders all of a sudden and shakes, coming all over both of them. It feels like a haze in Auston's mind, like staying too long in a sauna and feeling every breath you take throb in your head. He struggles to breathe through it and barely notices himself coming. He collapses on top of Mitch and contemplates just staying there until he dies.  


“You're heavy,” Mitch says, some unknown time later.  


“I'm really sorry about that and I wish I could help you out, but I'm dead now,” Auston replies.  


Mitch laughs weakly and levers Auston to the side, breathing deeply once he's free.  


“Good work, bondmate,” Mitch says, sounding sleepy.  


“You too,” Auston says, and lets himself fall asleep.  


-  


There's logistical things to take care of. They have to go to City Hall. A clerk takes their Declaration of Bond Completion form and takes pictures of their bond marks. And just like that, they're legally married.  


-  


The first thing that happens after they alert the Leafs is the hiring of their new bond trainer. Her name is Jen, she has bright red hair, and she's about Mitch's height. She's trained to work with all athletes who have bond issues to work on, but ice athletes are her specialty. There’s a hitch in her step when she moves certain ways, and she explains she played NCAA before her knee went out. She's never worked with teammates before, but they'll figure it out together.  


Her main job is to teach them to separate their emotions and figure out which of their skills have improved. Mitch is ridiculously fast. Auston feels like his reflexes are better.  


Mitch asks Jen what her bondmate does, and Jen tells them she's a gynecologist. Most people don't have to deal with the proximity Mitch and Auston will have, but they’ll also be able to read each other on ice, which is an advantage if they learn to control it.  


They're also having sex on every available surface whenever they can find the time.  


Mitch corners him one day as he's coming in the front door.  


“Your Dad went to the store,” Mitch says before dropping to his knees and going for Auston's zipper.  


“How long ago did he leave?” Auston asks. He gasps as Mitch licks the head of his dick and then whines when he leans back.  


“Ten minutes. He said he'd be back in two hours.” Mitch lazily jacks Auston. “Have you noticed he's started telling us how long he's going to be gone?”  


Auston reaches down and tangles his fingers in Mitch's hair. “He's afraid he's gonna walk in on us and need therapy.”  


“That's a valid concern,” Mitch says before taking Auston into his mouth.  


Mitch is getting better at this. Auston knows he's terrible, and feels a little competitive about it, but if that means Mitch will blow him just to prove he's better, Auston will take it.

\- 

**_After_**  
_September_  


In the lead up to the World Cup, Auston starts hearing a lot of commentary about how he's a very special player. The mentions of Mitch and the bond itself are fleeting, but there's a lot of talk about which of his stats are going to be better now than they were in Zurich, and how he’ll learn to play on his own, since newly bonded couples are notoriously present in each other's minds. TSN has an analyst who specializes in athlete bonds. She's going to be covering the Leafs full time once the season starts.  


McDavid is a lot nicer and quieter than Auston was expecting from how Mitch talks about him. He shakes Auston's hand and tells him to call him Davo, then formally asks Auston to greet Mitch for him. Auston scrambles until he can remember how to politely thank someone for acknowledging his bondmate essentially being with him at all times. There's etiquette to observe here.  


McDavid smiles like he's relieved Auston responded correctly. “I talked to Mitch a couple days ago, but I thought he'd appreciate the effort.”  


None of the other guys have done any of the more old-fashioned, polite stuff you're supposed to do with people in bonds. Some of them are still looking at him like they're suspicious he might start talking to Mitch in his head or show off some superpower. He doesn't reassure them that the most likely effect they'll see is Auston knowing exactly when Mitch gets to the Pop Tarts in the morning because there's always a burst of joy.  


-  


He notices during practice one day that Mo is placing himself between Auston and the rest of the guys, at least at first. He starts to let his guard down a little once no one says anything pointed about bonds or Mitch, but he's still alert.  


After Mo has interjected three times in a conversation Auston is trying to have with Saad, Auston taps him gently with his stick and smiles at him. Mo smiles back, embarrassed, and they go back to the conversation. Saad doesn't seem to notice anything weird, and Mo slows down considerably.  


-  


He spends a week flying around eastern Canada going to exhibition games. After a few days, the center of his chest starts to ache gently in the night. It's never enough to keep him from doing anything, more like a gentle reminder that he needs to be careful of this. It helps that they talk often, Mitch Facetiming him late at night with his shirt off, whining to Auston that he's bored without him, although he and Brian are getting tight out of necessity.  


The ache in his chest starts showing up during the day on a flight to Pittsburgh. The bond specialist he'd seen as a child had been very clear about what happened when a bond was stretched too far: body aches and fever, followed by delirium and then coma. It’s reversible, but no one wants to let it get that far. They can go a few more weeks before it starts to become a serious problem.  


When they land, he has a snap from Mitch. It's a picture of his bondmark with the caption “this sucks :(“  


He sends back a matching sad face. It's going to be a long couple of weeks.  


-  


The biggest change that comes from playing is getting pulled fully into the NHL fold. He follows everyone on instagram, and makes connections with people he's going to be facing off against in a month or two.  


He knows Davo has fully accepted him as a friend once he treats Auston to a filthy diatribe about Team Russia’s tactics.  


_did not know Davo knew some of the words he's using. I think ovechkin would be impressed if he heard what Davo just called him_ , he texts to Mitch.  


_yeah he gets vulgar after losses_ , Mitch replies. _when will you be home?_  


He calls Mitch when he's done talking to Davo to tell him about the hit he took in practice. It was exciting enough that he wants to hear Mitch's reaction. His knee jerked in a way that would have worried him before, but then he felt the pain ebb away. He's already healing faster. He feels invincible.  


“I'm a little jealous,” Mitch says.  


“Give yourself a paper cut and watch it heal. It's awesome.”  


“It's serious injuries only and you know this, Auston,” Mitch says, laughing.  


-  


Mitch comes to see him play when they get back to Toronto.  


“I'm here for Mo, actually,” he says, but Auston can feel his pride.  


Davo comes up behind Mitch and puts him in a headlock.  


“You get lost trying to find the WAG section, Marns?” Davo says.  


“Yeah, they said they'd have the VIP setup for me there,” Mitch says. He reaches out and holds Auston's hand. “You gonna get me a medal, baby?”  


Auston feels himself, horrifyingly, blushing. He doesn't know why this is hot.  


Mitch feels his mood shift and laughs at him. He turns to Davo. “I obviously can't trust you to take care of that.”  


He and Davo start talking about Auston playing wing, and Auston only half-listens, rubbing his thumb against the back of Mitch's hand.  


-  


They don't advance, and Mitch gives him an apology blowjob. They're getting good at them.  


His dad emails him an article entitled, “Top 10 Famous Latin@s in Bonds.” He's number ten. He's not sure whether to be bothered by people focusing on the bond or bothered by the fact that he's so low on the list.  


-  


Babs pulls them in for a conversation one day. They don't know if Mitch is going to stay up, but even so, they're not putting them on the same line.  


“It's too damn risky,” Babs says. “One of you gets startled, and the other reacts, then we've lost the puck. Or god forbid, one of you gets injured — we’d have to deal with the both of you on the ice while it worked itself out.”  


It makes sense, even though Auston hadn't thought about it before. Babs tells them it's precedent from the few times this has happened before in team sports.  


The rest of the team is starting to trickle in to Toronto and Auston meets most of them. It takes roughly a week before Auston feels like he gained a second father-in-law in Marty. Marty declares that the team has to throw them a bond party after learning they hadn’t had one, and ropes in most of the rookies to help him plan. Considering how some of them looked at him and Mitch with a kind of awe at first, Auston is appreciative, even if he knows they’ll never get their shit together enough to actually plan something.  


They have COD marathons at Auston and Mitch's apartment, even though Auston sucks. Mitch spends an afternoon chirping him about being bad and laughing in his head.

\- 

_October_  


The preseason is a godsend. Auston's tired already, but the chemistry he's developing with his teammates makes him want to play all day. They're going to be good together.  


It's weird on the ice with Mitch at first. They're playing against each other a lot and Auston is learning to separate his feelings from the rush he gets from Mitch. Mitch reacts to everything. A breakaway, a shot, getting checked: no matter what happens, Mitch's emotions spark bright and fizzy in Auston's head and it's dizzying at first.  


“Are you always excited?” he asks Mitch in bed that night.  


“No. Right now, I'm sleepy.” He turns his head from where he'd faceplanted nearly in Auston's armpit and bites Auston on the side.  


“For real, though, how are you so happy about everything all the time? Isn't it exhausting?”  


“Not really,” Mitch says as he yawns. “Life is great. Everything should make me happy.”  


“What are you getting from me?” Auston asks, after a second. He's been kind of reluctant to learn.  


Mitch rolls to the side and looks at Auston seriously. “I didn't know determination counted as an emotion until you were in my head. Yesterday, you were feeling really sure of something and when I looked at you, you were just picking up a banana. Like, I'm not the only one who could stand to calm the fuck down here, dude.”  


Auston pouts.  


“But,” Mitch relents, “you're also amused a lot. It's nice. Makes me want to share the joke.” Mitch cuddles back into his side. “Go to sleep. Tomorrow's a game day.” He kisses Auston on the shoulder and makes a big production of settling in. Auston feels himself drop off while Mitch is still squirming.  


-  


They're out to dinner one night after practice in a tiny restaurant that Hyman recommended. It's nothing special, burgers and fries in a diner-like atmosphere, more dimly lit to make it slightly upscale. They're in a booth towards the back but at least two tables have noticed them. No one has said anything to them, but Auston can feel their heavy gazes.  


Mitch meets his eyes. “Give me your hand.”  


Auston hesitates, but places his hand in Mitch’s. “Why?”  


Mitch laces their fingers together. “Now we're holding hands in public, because that's what married people do, and people are going to take pictures and put them on twitter, because we are the hockey version of famous. It's done, we never have to do it for the first time again.”  


Auston breathes out and feels a little lighter. Mitch's amusement bursts in the back of his head like a little firework. He grins back at him.  


The lady at the next table is definitely taking a picture.  


-  


He comes back to the hotel after the game against the Sens feeling kind of like a victorious king. His parents went out with the team to the bar and Auston managed to keep his drinking to reasonable levels both for their sake and because he had plans for Mitch.  


Mitch backs him against the wall of the hotel’s elevator as soon as they get through the doors. He's kissing Auston frantically, running his hands under Auston's suit jacket to clutch at his sides as he sucks sharply on Auston’s tongue. Auston makes a squeaking noise and Mitch pulls back and laughs. His desire and pride are shimmering in Auston’s head and he hopes he's giving Mitch back something just as good.  


“You did pretty well tonight,” Mitch says with a crooked smile, and the enormity of everything he's feeling leaves Auston feeling like he's drowning. The doors open and he drags Mitch down the hall to their room.  


Mitch pushes him back to sit on the bed once they're inside and goes to his knees in front of Auston.  


“Breaking records already? I'm proud of you,” Mitch says as he unbuckles Auston's pants and pulls his cock out.  


Auston's heart stutters.  


Mitch smiles at him. “What do you want? Anything at all.”  


Auston says, “Just like this. You on your knees.”  


Mitch kisses the tip of his dick and then opens his wide mouth around Auston. He sucks sharply, pulling back to lick at the slit as Auston shudders. He's single-minded, going down further than he has before. Auston's hand flutters around his head and Mitch looks up at him, pretty blue eyes shimmering with tears from gagging on Auston's cock. He pulls back enough that he can suck again and Auston bows forward, coming hard. He can feel Mitch's arousal in his head and he just shudders harder.  


Auston flops back as Mitch stands up to climb onto the bed and straddle him.  


He unzips his pants and starts jerking off as Auston watches.  


“We’re doing well with getting used to each other,” Mitch says, leaning forward and rubbing his head against Auston’s shoulder as his hips work against him. “But I was so afraid I would distract you on the bench. It was so fucking hot.” He bites gently on Auston’s shoulder and Auston wonders if he can get hard again.  


He runs a hand down Mitch’s back and Mitch thrusts against him a few times before Auston can feel the throbbing in his mind as Mitch tenses all over and then drapes himself over Auston.  


He kisses under Auston’s chin. “Carry me to the shower,” he says, and Auston falls asleep laughing at him.  


He wakes up late the next morning, Mitch passed out on top of him and their clothes in disarray. Mitch grumbles when Auston shifts him over so he can get to the bathroom, but he's sprawled unconscious when Auston comes back into the room.  


They're talking about Auston on TSN when he turns on the TV, which shouldn't really surprise him. The commentator is asking if he has an unfair advantage due to the bond.  


“He’s clearly coming into the league with an advantage that no one else has. I mean, four goals in a debut? Who else is even capable of that?”  


“Bonded athletes are a settled issue, this isn't any different because his bondmate plays on the same team. If it were true that he had an advantage, we could expect the same kind of thing from Marner. And we still don't know if he's going back to the Knights, do we?” the other guy says, which Auston thinks is a little unfair to Mitch.  


-  


It's also kind of unfair to Auston himself, he thinks later, and he's stuck wondering if he would have been able to do it without the bond.  


-  


Auston's mom comes back with them to Toronto to stay awhile. She despairs of the state of the apartment, and she and Mitch have coffee together most mornings.  


Mitch gives Auston his usual goodbye as he leaves one day to see his parents, and Ema looks speculatively at Auston. “Your bondmate calls you ‘dude’?” she asks.  


He sighs. “Yes, Mom.”  


“Don't sigh at me! I just thought it would be more romantic when you bonded. And here the two of you are, all video games and smelly hockey gear. It's disappointing.”  


-  


Auston is watching TV on their bed with Mitch passed out next to him. They'd come home pretty early after Mitch got his first goal, and Mitch had surprised him by maneuvering Auston into bed and then falling asleep against him. Using Auston as a pillow is Mitch's favorite thing, but Auston was expecting a little more excitement.  


Mitch's emotions get clearer as he wakes up. He feels content.  


“How long was I out?” Mitch asks.  


“Hour and a half,” Auston replies.  


Mitch runs a hand over his face. “Sorry, all the excitement was more exhausting than I was expecting,” he says.  


“It's okay, it gave me some time to take care of a few things,” Auston says, turning so he's looking at Mitch. He puts a hand against Mitch's bondmark and traces the pattern there idly.  


Mitch looks more awake. “Like what?” he asks, suspicious.  


“Do you want to fuck me?” Auston asks.  


Mitch wakes up fully. “Are you serious?”  


Auston looks down. “I figured one of us has to offer first, and you know, congratulations on your first goal!”  


Mitch is laughing at him. “That sounds… less than enthusiastic.”  


Auston blushes. He can feel Mitch's happiness bubbling in his head. He says, “We don’t have to,” but he sounds petulant to his own ears.  


There’s a flood of warm feeling from Mitch then. “Are you sure you want to?” Mitch asks, as he leans over Auston.  


Auston wraps his arms around Mitch's neck. “Yeah, I want to.”  


Mitch leans down and kisses him sweetly, sucking on Auston's tongue while his lust flows through Auston's brain and fizzes down his nerves. Mitch turns his head and sucks on the spot on Auston's neck that always makes him tense up, and he tightens his legs against Mitch's sides. Mitch grabs a handful of his ass and thrusts erratically against Auston.  


He tries to gentle Mitch, who puts his head down against Auston's chest and just breathes for a minute.  


“Sorry, it's just a lot,” Mitch says. He presses a kiss to Auston's chest and reaches between Auston's legs. He makes a confused sound when he feels where Auston is slick and open.  


“You…?” Mitch says before a strangled sound comes from his throat.  


“I did some research, and I thought it would be easier if I took care of it myself.”  


“Thank you,” Mitch says thickly, and he presses one finger into Auston. It's easy, because Auston didn't get himself ready that long ago, but it feels a lot different than doing it himself. Mitch presses in another finger and rubs against Auston's prostate. Auston pulls his legs up and curls into Mitch, shivering.  


“Good?” Mitch asks, breathless. He's overwhelming in Auston's head, all bright pulses of good feeling.  


“How?” Auston says, trailing off.  


“I did some research, too.”  


He pulls his fingers out and lines himself up against Auston, pushing in a little fast. They take a moment while Auston adjusts, and Mitch must be able to read how ready he is, because he pulls out slowly and starts thrusting.  


It's unlike any sex Auston has ever had. It's kind of settled with Mitch lately, and he's no longer overwhelmed by feeling sex from both sides. But this is intense. Auston feels Mitch's emotions like waves, and he clutches desperately at Mitch's shoulders, trying to hang on.  


“I'm not gonna last,” Mitch says, a shiver going through his whole body.  


“That's fine,” Auston gasps, his head falling back. It feels fucking amazing, and he wishes Mitch could keep going for roughly a year, but he understands the issue here.  


Mitch collapses forward suddenly, snapping his hips into Auston a few times before he lets out a wounded noise. Auston feels the rush of Mitch's pleasure through his mind, and comes untouched. He can't stop shaking.  


Mitch hasn't moved from where he's collapsed on Auston's chest. Auston rubs his hand against Mitch's hair with the little energy he has left. He feels like he's floating, little aftershocks running through him every once in a while.  


“Good plan. A+, well-executed,” Mitch says, kissing Auston across his chest. He starts snoring about two minutes later.  


-  


Car rides to practice are The Mitch Show. He sings along with everything he knows more than a third of the lyrics to, he dances in his seat in a way that seems frankly dangerous while driving, and he talks. Incessantly. Auston finally breaks down after a couple of weeks and tells him he doesn't follow what he's talking about half the time.  


“This isn't a conversation, babe,” Mitch says, smiling and smoothly turning the wheel. “You're an audience.”  


“So, any warm, mildly engaged body would work for you here, is what you're saying?”  


“Yep!” Mitch says, popping the “p” and patting Auston on the arm with his free hand.

\- 

_November_  


Mitch is staying up, and the team has adopted him. Bozie smacks him on the back of the head, Reemer mocks half of what he says, and Mo says, “shut up, Mitchy” at least once a day. He gets tackled and tickled and hugged all the time. Auston can admit he's a little jealous. Not of the attention, because Auston doesn't want to be anyone's little brother. But, and he knows this is utterly ridiculous, Mitch is his. Mitch should be laughing at his jokes and jumping up and down when he scores. Mitch laughs at him every time he feels a flare of Auston's jealousy at one of the guys monopolizing Mitch’s time. Auston understands it's silly, probably more so than he would otherwise because of his bondmate’s laugh track in his head.  


Mitch wakes up with a confused noise one night while Auston is brooding, and then smacks Auston lightly on the cheek. “Stop being annoyed. It's like wasps in my brain.” He yawns on the last word.  


“Sorry. Just — do they have to be all over you all the ti—”  


Mitch's hand covers Auston's mouth as he snuggles into Auston's side. “I love you best, we’ll be together forever, go the fuck to sleep.”  


And now Auston's going to be up trying to figure out an appropriate time to tell Mitch he loves him, too.  


-  


It's Pavlovian by now: if Mitch sings, Auston sings along with him. He sometimes forgets that cameras are trained on him, so when Mitch pesters him into singing along to Bon Jovi, he doesn't think it's going to blow up.  


Auston wasn't counting on true love’s serenade getting giffed to hell and texted to him forty times.  


He comes into the living room to find Mitch and Auston's dad watching the human interest portion of the news, where he and Mitch are the feel-good bond story everyone wants.  


Auston rolls his eyes and goes back to bed.  


-  


Mitch should be taking more hits in games. Everyone was expecting it, even before the bond happened, but the possibility of knocking both of them off their games at the same time is too much of a temptation for some guys. What Auston hadn't been expecting was Mitch's speed. He eels through huge guys, and sometimes Auston finds him hard to follow on the ice. It's the most obvious boost in his abilities since they've bonded.  


He's still not quick enough to escape everything. There's a huge bruise forming on his side where he got boarded. Somehow it had ended in both JVR and Bozie in the box and Babs yelling at all of them. Mitch had been ashamed and angry and it made Auston's stomach roil in the dressing room.  
Mitch is standing in front of the mirror looking at his bruise. It'll be green and sickly in a day or two but it just looks angry now.  


“You'd think bruises would be serious enough to heal, but instead I'll be stuck with this for a normal amount of time.” He looks up and meets Auston's eyes in the mirror. “Why do I need you again?”  


“Sex,” Auston says as he reaches out to touch the bruise. Mitch hisses at him and he feels the flare of annoyance like angry little pinpricks. “Sorry.”  


Mitch turns so he can see the bruise better.  


“We’ll take pictures tomorrow,” Auston says, patting Mitch right above the bruise. “It'll be more impressive then.”  


Mitch kisses him happily.  


-  


Auston is really drunk. That's his only excuse for why he's in a booth in a bar, making out with Mitch where anyone can see them. They tend to be low on PDA, both because neither of them are into it and it could get unfair on the team to have two of their teammates all over each other. But they've won a game, Mo is buying drinks, and Mitch got a goal and two assists. If they weren't so recognizable, Auston would blow him in the bathroom.  


Auston is sucking on Mitch's neck just to hear him gasp when Mo says, “You are literally married. You can go do this in your own house.”  


Auston starts to pull back when Gards says, “Matty’s just rewarding good behavior. I'm willing to see too much of their tongues if Mitchy keeps producing.”  


Mitch turns to him and slurs a little as he says, “You should hear what he's going to do for me if I get a hat trick.”  


Marty groans and shakes his head. “Nope. Stop right now. I know way too much about you already.”  


Auston pulls back from Mitch and tells them he's going to buy a round. Mitch slaps his ass as he stands up, then sits back and grins at him.  


A guy puts a hand on his arm as he passes by him walking to the bar. Auston stops and turns to him. He's shorter than Mitch, but not by much, with short brown hair and a compact body. He's smiling slyly.  


“You're Auston Matthews, aren't you?”  


Auston nods and smiles, thinking the guy is going to ask for a selfie. The guy’s hand stays on his arm.  


“I'm Mike.” He looks around. “Where's your bondmate?”  


“Around here somewhere. Did you want a picture?”  


The man leans more closely into him. He's in his early twenties and Auston probably would have thought he was hotter a year ago.  


“Maybe you can take me to meet your bondmate. Let me treat you both to a round of drinks.” He's stroking Auston's arm now, and Auston suddenly realizes what he's angling for.  


He hedges, suddenly awkward. “We’re actually headed out soon. How about a picture?”  


Mike looks unhappy, but dutifully pulls out his phone and takes a selfie with Auston. His hand drifts towards Auston’s ass and Auston makes a quick retreat back to the table without even getting to the bar.  


He turns to Mitch as soon as he sits down. “I'm pretty sure a guy wanted to have a threesome with us.”  


Mo makes a high-pitched snorting noise Auston has never heard him make before and Marty chokes on his drink before saying, “Trying to pick up some dude with your husband right here. Shameful.” He shakes his head ruefully and Auston kicks him.  


Gards looks thoughtful. “You know, that's a thing for some people. Trying to hook up with people in bonds. It's like a challenge for them.”  


“How do you even know this?” Marty asks.  


“Late night Wikipedia spiral,” Gards says, shrugging.  


Mitch leans his head on one hand, looking speculative. “What did you say to him?”  


“Nothing! I took a picture with him and left.”  


Mitch nods approvingly.  


“Looks like you gave the right answer,” Mo says. “You jealous, Mitchy?”  


Mitch says an offhanded “fuck you” and pushes Auston out of the booth. “We’re going home.”  


“He needs to be able to walk tomorrow, Mitchy,” Marty says, and Gards giggles.  


Mitch flips them off and drags Auston outside.  


“Were you jealous?” Auston asks as Mitch orders an Uber. He didn't feel anything.  


“Not really,” Mitch says. He looks up and smiles. “I'm still going to fuck you when we get home. Just to prove the point.”  


Auston smiles helplessly back at him.

\- 

_December_  


The Christmas Market is supposed to be a group thing, but the EPIX cameras have been trying to get good footage of him and Mitch interacting since they came, and it looks like they're getting their wish. Willy and Zach are already up on the Ferris wheel before Auston can object, and then it's his and Mitch's turn.  


He's freezing, mic’d so he can't say anything, and Mitch has decided this needs to go on Snapchat.  


Mitch calmly films them while Auston is freezing. Then he takes pity on Auston and grabs his hand, snuggling in.  


“Jesus Christ, don't shake it!” Auston says, and Mitch laughs at him.  


He looks down at the phone in his hand and then turns to Auston. “We’ll ditch them when we get down. Then you won't have to answer any questions about our romantic first Christmas together.”  


“I just wasn't expecting it!”  


“Santa was just trying to be polite!” Mitch laughs at him.  


Auston puts his arm around Mitch and grumbles in his seat.  


-  


Auston pulls out the fedora while Mitch lounges on their bed. He's laying back with his legs open, completely naked and holding his towel from the shower. Auston blew him before their nap and Mitch is going to be loose-limbed for hours. Auston places the fedora on his head and runs his gaze across Mitch's naked form.  


“Yes,” Mitch says, and his mirth sparks in Auston's mind. “You have to wear it. But I have an idea.”  


Later, when he's talking to the press, he says, “So, we’re at home and Matts puts on a fedora. And I couldn't let him go out like that alone, you know?” His eyes are sparkling. He looks up at Auston over the heads of the reporters. “What kind of bondmate would I be if I didn't back him up?”  


Auston grins back at him over the reporters’ heads. He can feel them echoing delight back and forth across the bond, and knows they can get a little wrapped up in each other, so Auston looks away before he shows too much.  


-  


Mitch's parents come to the holiday skate, and they introduce them to all the people they spend their days with. It's fun, just relaxed skating and small talk. He grabs Mitch's hand and takes a lap around the rink while Mo and Marty make kissy sounds.  
Bozie approaches them with his kid and hands the baby over eagerly. The baby immediately cries and Auston passes him back to Mitch in horror. He's never been around little kids. Breyana isn't that much younger than him and all his cousins are older. Mitch is the baby of his family, so Auston doesn't understand how he looks so comfortable with the baby, shushing him as he hands him back to Bozie. Mitch turns to Auston.  


“You're lucky we're not having children until much later,” Mitch says, smiling.  


Auston is going to have kids with this guy. This guy who doesn't use his inside voice and eats candy like he doesn't need protein calories more and falls asleep on Auston's shoulder five minutes into home improvement shows every time, even though he's the one who always chooses them. Every part of his life will have Mitch in it. He feels the contentment at that thought spread through him. Mitch feels it too, from the way he smiles widely at Auston. He grabs for Auston's hand and drags him to his parents.  


-  


Mitch has been accepted by Auston's entire extended family. They'd shown up at Auston's parents’ house as soon as they could after the plane landed and headed for a nap in Auston's old room. By the time they woke up, the house was filled with cousins and family friends.  


Mitch got passed around from person to person, laughing and hugging children and learning names. He fits here, and Auston is happy they had the opportunity to introduce him to everyone so soon.  


The hype for the Coyotes game is unreal. Most of the reporters ask him what it's like to be home and if his family liked Mitch, in addition to the normal questions.  


They win handily, and Auston's family shows up afterwards to take the team to dinner. It's really nice, perfect really, but Auston feels unsettled.  


He rolls over in the middle of the night to Mitch tossing and turning. Mitch always needs a while with a new bed, which leads to him basically using Auston as a body pillow. He wakes up.  


“Why are you thinking?” Mitch asks, when he sees Auston awake. “It's the middle of the night.” He rolls into Auston and burrows himself against Auston's side.  


Auston sighs. “I was just thinking about us and the bond.”  


“You still cranky there's an asterisk next to your name?”  


He hadn't realized Mitch had noticed.  


“I'm not cranky.”  


Mitch opens his eyes and regards Auston suspiciously.  


“You play in my hometown, on the team I grew up as a fan of, and you're doing better than I am. I can't walk down the street without people asking where you are. I'm an afterthought whenever you're in the room. And I always knew it would be like this. Once I realized I liked guys, the likelihood that my bondmate would be someone I ended up playing with went up a lot.” Mitch struggles to sit up. “I haven't said anything because I know you're just trying to deal, but you've got to get over this.”  


Auston suddenly really needs to know something. “Do you ever resent it? The bond?”  


Mitch takes him seriously and pauses to think before answering. “I can't think like that. It happened because it was always going to. All I can do is roll with it.” Mitch shrugs. “I choose to be happy about things. That's a decision. And I know it can piss people off, but it's who I am.”  


Auston holds Mitch's hand. “I'm happy it's who you are. I can sit back and look cool because you're always sure everything will work out.”  


Mitch huffs a laugh.  


“It makes it really easy to love you,” Auston says, looking away, and he hears Mitch’s breath catch. “I _am_ sorry I didn't think about you having issues with this, too,” Auston says.  


Mitch squeezes Auston's hand. “I didn't give you any reason to. Listen, I know I'm… a lot. And you get a little broody sometimes. We balance. Just, you know, talk to me when you need to and let me do my cheerleading routine so we can sleep at night.”  


He settles so he's facing Auston and pulls Auston down, grinning like he's done with the serious portion of the evening. “It'll be fine. Soon you'll be able to cuddle your Calder every time you feel inadequate. Or cuddle me. I am also here for cuddling.” He laughs as Auston buries his face in his neck. “Not just sex and assists.”  


They settle in and Auston hears Mitch speak.  


“I wouldn't mind playing here. Maybe when we get old enough that they have to ship us off, we can come here. Do some time having _your_ family too involved in our lives.”  


Auston buries his hand in Mitch's hair. “I'd like that.”

\- 

**_Epilogue_**  


_January_  


Auston looks back and sees the puck in the net just as his teammates are rushing him on the ice. Mitch wiggles through the crowd and taps on his helmet in happiness before leaning in and kissing him quickly. He doesn't have time to think about it because everyone is shouting and jumping on him.  


Everything is a blur as they celebrate and he gets showered and changed for the press. He's settled into a chair at a table next to Mitch. He's really tired of being asked if he's played outdoor hockey, so of course that's the first question they ask.  


It's the normal questions, running through how he played, and asking how it felt to play in such a special game. They ask about the alumni who are around, and Auston tells them that everyone was so happy to be there. Most of the alumni had been really welcoming to him and Mitch, and if anyone was uncomfortable, they managed to keep it low key enough that he hadn't noticed. Another reporter asks about how he feels representing the Leafs in this historic event.  


“It's great, you know, playing in the centennial year, and having the opportunity to do that with my bondmate, it's obviously really special.”  


He can feel Mitch’s happiness like bubbles rising in the back of his mind, and turns to look at him as Mitch answers the next question.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a [Tumblr](http://afterthefair.tumblr.com/). It's basically pictures of Mitch Marner, Jamie Benn, and puppies, because I live to be redundant.


End file.
